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The resourceful Huizhou merchants were well versed in the expertise of obtaining a position so as to attach themselves to the court. Their strategy was to "provide funds for academic pursuits with business profits, get political positions through academic pursuits, and ensure business profits from the political positions." Therefore, politics and commerce were closely related among Huizhou merchants.

After gaining fame and fortune, many Huizhou merchants returned home in all their glory and undertook large-scale construction, building mansions, ancestraltemples, guildhalls, roads, and bridges to honor their ancestors and to extend their clan's influence. They were bent on establishing academies, schools, and examination centers and cultivating feudal intellectuals to consolidate the patriarchal clan system.

In the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, 2,108 people from five counties (Shexian, Yixian, Qimen. Jixi)(need to include the fifth county) were granted the title of jinshi after they passed the finalimperial examinations, which were held every three years and presided over by the emperor.

Also during the abovementioned dynasties, the literary works of 343 people from Shexian County alone were included in Best Poems or Best Essays. There are stories about "three successive jinshis from one place and four hanlina (members of the Imperial Academy) within ten li (nearly 3.3 miles or 5.3 kilometers)," "both father and son as ministers," "both brothers as prime ministers," and "three generations of imperially-honored courtiers."

With academic studies and etiquette greatly advocated, Huizhou was a cradle for talented scholars who made achievements in various domains. Huizhou culture, enriched with these achievements, displayed a splendid view of liberal arts and history.

But the Hui merchant group faded as theQing Dynastycame to an end. The main body of Hui merchant group had been salt traders. Since salt was a monopoly of the government, the salt traders were carefully protected against competition. So when the monopoly was abandoned, the franchises disappeared.